Growth Now Movement with Justin Schenck

What if the biggest thing standing between you and the life you want isn't a lack of knowledge, but the way you see yourself? In this episode of The Growth Now Movement, I sit down with Niko Arapkiles, a heart-centered entrepreneur who blends personal development, mindset work, marketing, and sales to help people turn their vision for the future into something they actually live. Niko's journey into personal development started with a painful experience on the baseball field. After developing the yips, he was forced to confront the mental side of performance. That experience sent him down a path of mindset work, visualization, and identity development that eventually helped him earn a Division I baseball scholarship. He carried those lessons into the business world, where he worked in advertising with nine-figure brands. But along the way, he realized something important: giving people more information doesn't necessarily mean they'll change their lives. That's what led him to create Vision Espresso, a platform designed to help people move beyond learning and start implementing. The system transforms personalized coaching into future-self audio experiences that incorporate subconscious techniques, delivered through an app with listening tracking, gamification, and community support. We talk about why visualization can be more powerful when you relax into your body first, how repeatedly connecting with the person you want to become can influence your daily actions, and why implementation matters so much more than simply consuming another book, podcast, or course. Niko also shares a different perspective on stress. Instead of trying to eliminate every uncomfortable feeling, he talks about learning to be present with stress, understand what's happening, and move through it without allowing it to dictate your decisions. And we get into something I talk about a lot on this show: the people you surround yourself with. Niko explains how community can accelerate personal growth, create new opportunities, and help you stay connected to the vision you're working toward. We also talk about success, freedom, self-care, daily rituals, prayer, meditation, and the importance of taking care of yourself while building something meaningful. If you're someone who consumes personal development content but struggles to consistently put what you learn into action, this conversation will challenge you to think differently about how you approach growth. Because the goal isn't just to imagine a better future. It's to start becoming the person who can create it. In this episode, we talk about: How the baseball yips introduced Niko to mindset work The connection between identity, visualization, and performance Earning a Division I baseball scholarship Taking personal development principles into business and advertising Why education alone doesn't create transformation What Vision Espresso is and how personalized future-self audios work Using visualization to reinforce the identity you're building Why relaxing your body can change your visualization practice Learning to work with stress instead of constantly fighting it The role of consistency and implementation in personal growth How community helps accelerate growth and opportunity Why your environment matters when you're changing your life Daily practices for mindset, health, prayer, and meditation Redefining success around self-care and freedom Becoming the person who can create the future you envision If this episode resonates with you, subscribe to The Growth Now Movement, leave a review, and share this conversation with someone who's ready to stop collecting information and start putting it into action.

What if the reason your content isn't getting attention has nothing to do with your industry being boring, and everything to do with how you're talking about it? In this episode of The Growth Now Movement, I sit down with Matt Diamante, SEO expert, content creator, agency owner, and entrepreneur, to talk about how to stand out online, build an audience, and turn content into real business growth. Matt has built a business around a topic most people wouldn't exactly call exciting: SEO. But instead of blending in with everyone else in his industry, he figured out how to make search engine optimization engaging through social media, viral content, and a willingness to do things differently. We talk about his journey from running an agency that relied heavily on referrals to building a team of more than 20 people, launching a membership community, and writing a book. One of the biggest drivers behind that growth? Consistently showing up and posting content, then paying attention to what actually works. Matt breaks down SEO in a way that makes sense, explaining why ranking on Google starts with understanding what someone is searching for and giving them the right answer on the right type of page. Whether that's a blog post, product page, or service page, matching search intent is a critical piece of the puzzle. We also get into backlinks, online mentions, directories, press releases, and how businesses can build the credibility that helps them become more visible in search results. And, of course, we talk about AI. As search continues to evolve, Matt explains why businesses need to adapt without sacrificing their expertise or personality. Instead of publishing generic, mass-produced AI content, he shares a smarter approach: use AI to interview you, draw out your real knowledge, and help turn your experience into useful content that actually sounds like you. We also talk about going viral, dealing with judgment online, experimenting with different content strategies, and why getting views is only part of the equation. The bigger question is how you turn attention into trust, leads, and paying clients. Matt shares how his team tests ideas, learns together, and adjusts its strategy based on what the results reveal. He also explains why surrounding yourself with people who are one step ahead of you can accelerate your growth. For Matt, success ultimately comes down to time. Building a business isn't just about making more money. It's about creating the freedom to decide how you spend your life. If you're an entrepreneur, business owner, or creator who wants to improve your SEO, create better content, generate leads through social media, and navigate the changing world of AI search, this conversation is packed with practical takeaways. In this episode, we talk about: How to make a traditionally boring industry engaging on social media Standing out online and creating content that stops the scroll Growing an SEO agency from referrals to a team of 20+ people Why consistent daily content creation matters SEO explained simply: keywords, search intent, and the right page type How backlinks, directories, and press releases support SEO Turning viral content into actual clients Handling criticism and judgment when you put yourself online How AI is changing SEO and the future of search Using AI interviews to capture your expertise and unique voice Why generic AI-generated content can miss the mark Testing content strategies instead of guessing Building a community around your expertise Learning faster by collaborating with your team Why getting in rooms with people one step ahead of you matters Defining success as having more control over your time If you enjoy this conversation, subscribe to The Growth Now Movement, leave a review, and share it with an entrepreneur who wants to grow their business by showing up differently online.

What do you do when someone you love is struggling with addiction, mental illness, or repeated treatment failures, and nothing you've tried seems to be working? In this episode of The Growth Now Movement, I sit down with Mark Astor, co-founder of a law firm that helps families navigate some of the most difficult situations imaginable when an adult child is struggling with substance use, mental illness, and the cycle of crisis that can come with it. Mark's journey into this work wasn't a straight line. He began his legal career as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County in the 1990s, but after seeing the same people cycle through the justice system again and again, he began questioning whether a punishment-first approach was actually helping people change. After moving into defense work, navigating career setbacks, and learning some difficult lessons along the way, a pivotal mentorship helped Mark see the connection between personal growth, business development, and building a career around meaningful impact. In 2016, Mark and his wife started their firm with a different approach: combining legal strategies with clinical services and law enforcement collaboration to help families find a path forward when traditional approaches haven't worked. We talk about the realities families face when an adult child is struggling, why denial can make it so difficult for someone to recognize they need help, and how conditions such as anosognosia can affect a person's awareness of their own illness. Mark also explains why families need to move away from blame and toward responsibility, why recovery is a long-term process rather than a quick fix, and how family participation can play an important role in the journey. We get into the importance of the people you surround yourself with, the lessons Mark has learned while growing his firm to a team of around 15 people, and how his definition of success has evolved throughout his career. For Mark, success is circular. As you grow, you create the capacity to help more people, and that impact becomes part of what drives you to keep growing. This is a conversation about addiction, recovery, family, leadership, resilience, and what it means to keep searching for solutions when the stakes couldn't be higher. In this episode, we discuss: Why Mark moved away from a punishment-first approach to the justice system Finding purpose after career setbacks Building a law firm with his wife from the ground up How legal strategies can support families facing addiction and mental illness Common misconceptions about addiction and recovery Understanding denial and anosognosia Moving from blame toward responsibility Why recovery requires long-term commitment The role families can play in supporting recovery Why your environment and relationships matter Building a team around a mission that matters Lessons from difficult cases and personal growth Defining success through service and impact If you or someone you love is navigating a difficult situation, this conversation is a reminder that you don't have to figure everything out alone, and that finding a way forward may require a different approach than the one you've tried before. Subscribe to The Growth Now Movement for more conversations about personal growth, leadership, entrepreneurship, and creating a life that makes a meaningful impact.

What happens when success starts costing you the life you actually want? In this episode of The Growth Now Movement, I sit down with entrepreneur, author, and creator Ryan Levesque to talk about entrepreneurship, scaling a business, human connection, health, family, and what it really means to build a life around what matters. Ryan's story is anything but conventional. He grew up blue collar, went on to study neuroscience and Chinese at Brown University, worked at Goldman Sachs, and eventually helped lead AIG's expansion into China. But during the 2008 financial crisis, he walked away from that career and took a completely different path into entrepreneurship. We talk about some of his earliest businesses, including selling Scrabble tile jewelry online and building an orchid-care business, and how those experiments eventually led to the creation of the Ask Method and a much larger training and software company. But then came the part a lot of entrepreneurs don't talk about. Ryan became obsessed with growth. At 30, that relentless pursuit landed him in the hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis and a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis. Even after building successful companies, he eventually found himself facing another uncomfortable realization: the business he had worked so hard to build was starting to dictate how he lived. That led Ryan and his family to make a massive change. They moved from Austin to rural Vermont and began pursuing what he calls a "return to real" lifestyle, including growing a significant portion of their own food and creating more space for family, health, and the things that don't necessarily scale. We dive into why entrepreneurs often confuse scaling with success, the value of doing "unscalable" things, and why trust and human connection may become even more valuable as AI continues to automate more of our lives and businesses. Ryan also shares his thoughts on oxytocin, relationships, entrepreneurship, and why creating deeper human connection can be a competitive advantage in an increasingly digital world. And one of my favorite parts of the conversation is Ryan's definition of success: optimizing for what matters in the season of life you're actually in. We talk about knowing when to push, when to simplify, when to let go, and how to recognize that the definition of success can change as your life changes. If you're an entrepreneur who is constantly chasing the next level but wondering what all that growth is actually costing you, this conversation is worth paying attention to. In this episode, we talk about: Ryan's blue-collar upbringing and unconventional path to entrepreneurship Studying neuroscience and Chinese at Brown University Working at Goldman Sachs and AIG's expansion into China Why Ryan left corporate America during the 2008 financial crisis Building his first online businesses The Ask Method and learning how to scale The hidden costs of relentless growth Ryan's Type 1 diabetes diagnosis and health crisis Why successful entrepreneurs can still feel trapped Moving from Austin to rural Vermont Raising more of the family's own food The idea of a "return to real" Why human connection matters more in an AI-driven world Trust, oxytocin, and relationships The power of doing things that don't scale Why "unscalable" can actually be a competitive advantage Balancing entrepreneurship, family, health, and purpose Defining success based on the season of life you're in Ryan's biggest personal growth lessons If you enjoy conversations about entrepreneurship, personal growth, business scaling, success, health, family, leadership, human connection, AI, and building a life that actually feels good, make sure you subscribe to The Growth Now Movement.

What if the parts of your story you're most tempted to hide are actually the parts that could help someone else? In this episode of The Growth Now Movement, I sit down with Cristina P. Simmons, a mom of three adopted children, wife of 27 years, author, and founder of her own publishing company, to talk about the power of storytelling, healing, faith, and designing a life with more freedom. Cristina's journey began with writing her trauma-heavy memoir, Eat Your Feelings. What started as a deeply personal process of putting her experiences on paper eventually turned into something much bigger. After hearing Amberly Lago on Ed Mylett's podcast, Christina joined a mastermind, wrote and released her book, and discovered that she didn't just want to tell her own story. She wanted to help other women tell theirs. We talk about how Cristina's experiences with childhood abuse contributed to emotional eating and how becoming more self-aware helped her recognize the connection between what she was feeling and how she was responding. Her son's autism diagnosis and her studies in occupational therapy also played a major role in helping Christina better understand herself, her patterns, and the tools she could use to respond differently. Instead of simply trying to eliminate the urge to eat, Cristina talks about learning to redirect it through movement, walking, breathing, prayer, workouts, and community. We also dive into the process of writing a memoir and one of the biggest questions many people face when telling their story: What actually belongs in the book? Cristina explains why every story matters, how to identify the moments that shaped you, and what it means to become ready to share those experiences with the world. At the heart of this conversation is a powerful idea: your story doesn't have to be perfect to be meaningful. Cristina now helps women navigate the emotional process of bringing their stories to life through publishing, while continuing to build a life centered around faith, freedom, family, and intentionality. We talk about healing, emotional eating, storytelling, entrepreneurship, motherhood, faith, resilience, publishing, masterminds, and what it really means to create a life by design. If you've ever thought, "My story isn't important enough," this episode is for you. In this episode, we talk about: Cristina's journey from memoir writer to publishing company founder Writing Eat Your Feelings How childhood experiences can influence emotional eating Recognizing emotional patterns and learning new responses The impact of her son's autism diagnosis on her self-awareness How a mastermind helped Cristina take action on her book Why every person's story matters How to identify the moments that belong in your story Knowing when you're ready to share your story Tools for redirecting emotional urges The role of exercise, walking, breathing, prayer, and community Faith and resilience Building a life around freedom and intentionality Daily habits that support success Turning your personal experiences into purpose If this episode resonates with you, make sure you subscribe to The Growth Now Movement, leave a review, and share this conversation with someone who needs to hear it.